A year ago Sunday, Franz Wagner learned he suffered a torn right abdominal muscle injury that forced him to miss 20 games.
In a cruel twist of fate, the Magic forward exited the first quarter of Sunday’s game at New York due to a lower left leg injury that kept him out for the remainder of the contest and required him to need help to get to the locker room.
A day after Orlando lost 106-100 to the Knicks, an MRI conducted Monday showed that Wagner suffered a left high ankle sprain, the Orlando Sentinel confirmed and the team later announced.
Wagner’s return to the court will depend on how he responds to treatment, the team said. ESPN first reported the injury update and added that he could miss two-to-four weeks.
Wagner averaged 23.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.17 steals per game during the first 23 contests of the season. Orlando also just got back Paolo Banchero from a left groin strain that held him out of 10 games prior to last Friday.
But it’s a spot the Magic have been in before, almost exactly a year ago.
“You always lean on the things that have happened in the past a little bit to take that experience,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after the six-point loss Sunday. “But we’ve got to learn from it. What are we going to do? And how are we going to play?
“You don’t want to see anybody go down, but we talked about our depth and our defense being our strong suits, so our guys are going to have to step up to the plate, depending on how long guys are out for.”
One of those players the Magic will lean on is second-year pro Tristan da Silva, who started all 10 games during Banchero’s recent injury rehab. Da Silva also helped fill in for Wagner and Banchero when they both missed extended time last season.
The 2024 No. 18 pick started the second half in place of Wagner at New York but ended scoreless in 18 minutes, shooting 0-for-7 from the floor. Before Sunday, da Silva was averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists during 23.7 minutes in the first 23 games while shooting 38.5% from 3-point range.
There’s also veteran forward Jonathan Isaac if Mosley opts for size or rookie Noah Penda, a second-round pick from France, if Mosley searches for a younger boost off the bench.
None of the three, however, will be able to solely replace the production of Wagner, who sat 15th in both total scoring among all players league-wide (545 points) and total minutes played (801.2) ahead of Monday’s slate of games, according to NBA.com.
Wagner had scored in double figures 23 times, 20-plus points 18 times and 30-plus points twice before Sunday. Prior to the injury, he notched 7 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and a steal in 7 minutes of first-quarter action against the Knicks.
“Franz has been great,” Mosley said about his season after the game. “He’s just continued to step up to the plate and doing everything that we ask him to do, beginning on the defensive end of the floor taking on different challenges (and) stepping up on the offensive end with confidence.
“He’s great at getting downhill, attacking the basket, getting to the free throw line, stepping into his shot with confidence,” Mosley added. “He’s been great for us this year.”
Orlando (14-10) will have to adjust quickly when it hosts Miami (14-10) at Kia Center on Tuesday in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
The Magic just beat the Heat last Friday at home by one point, 106-105, and four points, 125-121, on opening night, but they have to earn the same outcome a third time in a row if they want to travel to Las Vegas for the semifinals of the league’s in-season tournament on Saturday.
It’ll be an uphill battle without Wagner, who had already been playing with a facemask since Nov. 12 because of a broken nose.
But the Magic aren’t backing down from the challenge despite the familiar circumstances.
“We’ll assess where we’re at, where (Franz) is at and we’ll go forward,” Jalen Suggs said. “We’ve got another one on Tuesday.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Magic vs. Heat, NBA Cup quarterfinals
When: 6 p.m., Tuesday, Kia Center
TV: Prime Video